Hy-Wire is the opening act

There are alternative energy vehicles that are green, and others that are red hot. Bob Jennings tests quite different approaches from either side of the Atlantic.

05 August 2003Bob Jennings

The General Motors Autonomy fuel-cell concept car, last year's biggest development in petrol-electric power, combined two important technologies. The first was its fuel-cell powerplant, the second "drive by wire". Pity it was a show car and didn't go. Now comes GM's Hy-Wire concept (pictured), which takes the fuel-cell powered electric motor idea a step further. For one thing, it's mobile.

The Autonomy's entire mechanical package was in a skateboard-style sandwich, with the fuel cell beneath the floor along with storage for the hydrogen that fuelled it. Each wheel had an electric motor and the steering was electric.

Apart from the Hy-Wire's standout styling ? why can't conventional cars look as good? ? and the fuel cell, its other fascinating feature is the all-electric operation of the accelerator, brakes and steering.

Its drivetrain and fuel storage fit within the 28cm-thick chassis "sandwich" that forms the floor. To emphasise the absence of mechanical links to the operating systems, the Hy-Wire's controls are hand-operated.

Handles, mounted on a pod and resembling motorbike handgrips, replace the steering wheel. Twist a grip to accelerate and, to brake, squeeze a pad that looks like a rubber version of a bicycle's brake lever.

The brake calipers are operated by tiny electric motors instead of hydraulically.

The vehicle operates smoothly and the steering, accelerating and braking controls are as easily learned as those of a clutchless motorscooter.

However, the Hy-Wire is handicapped by its range ? about 130km.

Battery-powered electric cars have become spectacular sales failures and hydrogen, despite unique disadvantages, remains the big hope for powering fuel cells, ending dependence on foreign oil and cutting down on pollution. The sole tailpipe emission is water vapour.

Still, researchers say, it could be 10 years before such vehicles are day-to-day transport.

The "By Wire" technology is tipped to become common in production cars well before the advent of fuel cells.

Some current models replace the mechanical links between the accelerator and the fuel injection system with an artificially weighted pedal whose sensors send the throttle information to the engine management system.

But, engineers say, there is a long way to go before braking and steering are completely operated by wire. In the interim, there will be hybrid systems with mechanical back-up for the electronic components.

Building a fuel-cell drive system now works out at about $US500 ($750) per kilowatt produced. To make such a car saleable (government fleets are the main operators to date), this needs to be reduced to about $US50.

The major prevailing problems are to do with the hydrogen fuel: how to store it on board vehicles, and to produce, distribute and store it for use by fuel-cell cars and another fuel-cell application, stationary power-generating plants.

Storing hydrogen in liquid form requires ultra-low temperatures. A storage system now costs about $30,000 ? for production cars, this needs to be more like $300.

It also has emerged that fuel-cell cars powered by hydrogen have a limited range ? the Hy-Wire's is typical ? a trait shared with battery-powered cars.

Drive tested and reported on an earlier GM fuel cell vehicle, the HydroGen3, which used a fuel cell-electric motor drivetrain in a Holden Zafira body, and which was brought to Australia for the 2000 Olympic Games.

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The size of your tyre is located on the sidewall of your tyre.It will be similar to the sample below.